I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke Chapter 55

A handsome man with blonde hair swept back to frame his forehead and eyes the color of amethyst.

 

He had the most striking eyes.

 

Evelyn stood with her back to the balcony and asked, “…Who are you?”

 

She knows he’s the crown prince, but portraits of the imperial family are usually only given to the great nobility and royal families of other countries.

 

It would have seemed odd to identify Cedric, who bore no resemblance to the current emperor, as the crown prince.

 

Fortunately, Cedric didn’t find her behavior strange.

 

He simply shrugged his shoulders, his smirk never changing.

 

“Oh, well. I must have the wrong room.”

 

“If you’re looking for the grand duke, it’s the room at the end of the hall.”

 

“Ah, well, I beg your pardon. Please forgive my rudeness.”

 

Cedric bowed casually and turned to leave, then whirled around to lock eyes with her again.

 

“Have we… met before?”

 

Evelyn stifled a sigh as she skillfully stifled a questioning look.

 

“Well, I don’t even know who the gentleman is.”

 

“Alas, I see, though… with such a beautiful face in your eyes, there’s no way I wouldn’t remember.”

 

Behind him, the half-open door slammed shut with a loud click.

 

“Why are they closing the door?”

 

Cedric leaned back against the closed door and smiled dubiously at her, his eyes scanning her, sending a light chill down her spine.

 

Then he walked slowly toward her.

 

“I am late in introducing myself. I am Cedric Lucius Adin Ikar, sole crown prince of the House of Cardassian.”

 

Pensive, Evelyn tried to close the distance, but she was pinned against the railing, with nowhere to go.

 

Cedric rushed up to her in a panic, leaned down, lightly squeezed the tips of her hair, and kissed her.

 

It was the kind of intimate touch one would use when they met someone they liked at a ballroom or banquet, to indicate that they had a crush on them.

 

Cedric smiled lazily.

 

“For you in particular, I will allow you to call me Cedric, for you seem to be as lonely as I am.”

 

There was a cheapness in his gaze and tone that would have made her frown if she hadn’t been so concerned with her expression.

 

“I can’t help but feel that way.”

 

In the past, all Cedric had done as a nominal member of the dungeon raiding party was flirt uselessly with Evelyn.

 

It didn’t matter to him if she was married or his cousin’s brother’s wife.

 

“Let’s not do anything conspicuous.”

 

Evelyn slipped a lock of hair out of his grasp and stepped aside.

 

“My goodness… please forgive me for my impertinence in not recognizing the little sun of the Empire.”

 

Reluctant as she was, Evelyn was as polite as she could be.

 

“It is an honor to meet you. I am Evelyn, the grand duke’s consort.”

 

Nothing she did would change Cedric’s attitude toward the grand duke, but at least she wouldn’t get herself in trouble.

 

“What a wretched man to leave a woman alone.”

 

But Cedric was no longer in the mood for politeness.

 

“How could such a beautiful woman choose a bloodthirsty madman? Is your family in debt? If it’s money, I can help you with that.”

 

He shrugged his shoulders once, walked up to her, and began to bombard her with rude remarks.

 

He didn’t even flinch, which made her think that his presence in her room now was intentional.

 

Cedric was a man who would do anything to get under Kalian’s skin.

 

“You’re wrong,” Evelyn said, ”no matter what you do to me, Kalian won’t blink an eye.”

 

Evelyn lifted her gaze, suddenly trapped between his arms and the balcony railing.

 

“With all due respect, Your Highness, I admire you greatly for dedicating your life to the defense of the Empire.”

 

“Oh, don’t take this the wrong way. I don’t mean to disparage the grand duke, but…”

 

Cedric’s throaty voice rose ominously as he fixed his gaze on Evelyn’s lashes.

 

“It’s just that I feel sorry for your bright future, marrying an unscrupulous man who’s already thinking of starting a government before he’s even sworn in as Grand duke.”

 

Evelyn’s heart sank at his sudden words.

 

She knew what he was talking about.

 

Unscrupulous meant the grand duke, government meant the saint.

 

Cedric, reading her agitation, leaned in a little closer and whispered.

 

“I pretended to be asleep in the carriage. Perhaps you’ll think differently when you hear what the grand duke and the Saint talked about.”

 

With that, Cedric recounted their conversation in the carriage.

 

“She’s going to be joining the dungeon raiding party soon, and she said she’s looking forward to spending some time with him.”

 

She avoided any direct mention of the two of them, but it was enough for her to understand, knowing the secrets of the Oracle.

 

Of course, she wasn’t the least bit hurt.

 

She knew more than anyone else about Kalian’s situation.

 

Cedric, after all, is not someone she trusts. Evelyn let the other woman’s words slip out of her ears, and she brushed them off.

 

“It doesn’t matter, it’s already been agreed upon.”

 

“If it was agreed, does that mean you’ve decided to jump on the aristocratic bandwagon and seek a free marriage?”

 

There was a hint of sickening anticipation in his voice as he leaned in closer.

 

“What a fad.”

 

Evelyn scowled and slid aside again, hiding her displeasure.

 

“…I don’t think it’s any of your business. If you’re really curious, why don’t you ask the grand duke himself?”

 

Cedric frowned, finding her constant avoidance of him somewhat peculiar.

 

But then he burst out laughing.

 

“Seeing you this close, I’m reminded that the grand duke’s tastes are quite consistent.”

 

Evelyn’s mind flashed back to the face of the saint she’d seen outside the grand duke’s bedchamber a few days ago.

 

She told herself not to think about it, but she couldn’t help but notice that she looked a little older.

 

But aside from having the same hair and eye color, she and the saint were different.

 

“I see.”

 

Cedric’s brow furrowed as Evelyn stared at me with unwavering eyes.

 

“But there’s something about… Miss Lindbergh that doesn’t seem human to me; she’s like a marionette with her limbs tied together, and I don’t find that attractive.”

 

Evelyn’s face paled instantly.

 

“Lindbergh…”

 

“Deborah Del Lindberg, the name of a saint. I guess he really didn’t tell you anything.”

 

“D.Lindberg,” Evelyn said in shock, remembering the name engraved beneath the portrait.

 

Cedric shrugged, one corner of his mouth twitching up as if he didn’t know.

 

“Considering that we had such a strange conversation, I guess we’re much closer than I thought…”

 

Kwang─!

 

It was then that the bedroom door flew open with a sound like it was going to fall off.

 

Kalian, who had walked straight to where they were, let out an exhilarated sigh and slammed the balcony door open.

 

After glancing back and forth between the two of them, frozen in motion, Kalian fixed his gaze on Cedric.

 

“What the hell is this?”

 

His voice was harsh. He knew they weren’t close, but he’d never been so openly hostile in front of her.

 

Cedric was flustered, and so was she.

 

“You, you, you stalker! I have come to see what a beautiful complexion the wife-to-be of my dear cousin has. What’s the matter?”

 

“You’re really beyond redemption.”

 

“Well, you bastard!”

 

The conversation went no further.

 

Kalian, his face red with anger, grabbed Cedric by the scruff of the neck and dragged him out the door.

 

“Argh!”

 

Cedric screamed and fell helplessly to the hallway. Kalian, who was about to take a step toward him, half-turned to look at her.

 

Then, as soon as he saw Evelyn’s shocked face, he frowned, his voice low and warning.

 

“I’ll be back soon, and I want you to be quiet and not let anyone in the room but me.”

 

“I didn’t mean to let him come into the room…!”

 

But her protest was drowned out by the sound of the door slamming shut.

 

Evelyn stared at the closed door in disbelief, unable to breathe.

 

Her face was flushed to the tips of her hair, and she looked like she might burst at any moment.

 

“They’re really just going to leave like that?”

 

It was the first time she’d seen him since waking up.

 

She wasn’t expecting a sentimental reunion.

 

She just wanted to ask him how he was feeling, tell him that she had been busy and couldn’t come to visit him, and say hello.

 

There was a brief commotion outside the door as the cold gaze and cold voice pierced my heart.

 

Soon, their voices were no longer heard. A terrible silence hung heavy in the bedroom.

 

Evelyn, still leaning against the balcony railing, returned to the bedroom and sat down in the chair, her mind racing.

 

Then she calmly collected her thoughts.

 

‘Perhaps the saint was his secret lover.’

 

Evelyn remembered Kalian stepping out of the carriage with the saint in his arms.

 

The way he’d gazed longingly at her, as if reunited with a lost lover.

 

The way he showed no hesitation in touching and holding her, contrary to the rumors of his distrust of women.

 

Now that she thought about it, his demeanor began to make sense.

 

He was used to taking what he wanted, whenever he wanted, with no one watching.

 

He didn’t care if it was in a dungeon or in the open air, as long as he could control his outbursts.

 

‘And yet he never crossed the line.’

 

His warning that he could do this day in and day out and never have me desire you was not an empty threat.

 

To him, she was a cure for his pain, a substitute for a saint.

 

It wasn’t as if she didn’t know it, but the cold reality of it hit her like a punch in the gut.